DeVuego

From the developer of the out-of-nowhere indie hit Call of the Sea.

A worthy successor to the classic NES trilogy.

It must be a challenge to thread inspiration’s needle in a game like this one. Critics and players might point to Neva’s most obvious references as thematic shortcuts, but the game’s personality and careful sense of craft always shined through. I’m tempted to compare Neva to Playdead’s influential duology of Limbo and Inside, even though the tonal qualities remain quite different, primarily for the impeccable quality of its design and richness of its world, dialogue-free as it may be. It's a brief experience overall, but most players should feel compelled to happily join Alba and Neva in starting the seasonal cycle anew, their screenshot key on a hair trigger.

Players old and new will inevitably find themselves immersed in Vic\'s journey and Ava\'s fate, somewhere between its unique creature designs, evocative soundtrack, and moving story. As a whole, Creatures of Ava is a wonderful experience, and is likely to stick with players for a long time to come.

Eden Genesis has a rich pool of references to giddily point toward, but very little unprecedented innovation or personality to uplift its genre, and that’s a big problem. As a time-trials platformer, it’s only just about average in terms of control quality, creative hazards, and challenge level. For the latter, it leans more towards achingly precise triggers, but muddies this water with mechanics that are more frustrating than fun.

Ugly is a hidden gem among indie games. It features a beautiful, melancholic narrative that will intrigue players as they unravel the nobleman’s hideous past. The puzzles are both challenging and engaging without being too complex for casual players to enjoy as they master the fascinating mirror mechanic of this world. Ugly is an interesting, unique experience that is recommended for players of every kind.

Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is a cute adventure about friendship with some darker details to flesh out its stakes. Its basic platforming is nothing special, but the few smarter puzzles should make players sit up in their seats at least, and they’ll leave the game with a better grasp of the main characters’ world. It probably doesn’t do enough to warrant much attention from non-LoL fans, but it’s a gentle and accessible game which can be completed in one or two sittings, and very few platformers let you hug a yeti.

Then again, this is exactly how isolation works. The world continues on outside the window at breakneck pace, leaving only stories and memories to cling to in the aftermath. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is about the forgotten, punished, and lost finding their footing once again, reclaiming authority and placement in their world. Do they feel vengeful towards their captors or betrayed by the lost connections who now casually darken their door with a smile? Do they punish themselves for their actions, or blame it on the broken system they now seek to change? Don’t allow the colorful outfits and smiling faces to fool you, as The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood can form a rather insidious narrative dependent on player input, to make for an entirely original and rewardingly rich adventure.

At first, the balancing act of Do Not Feed The Monkeys 2099 can feel quite overwhelming. Health decays at a faster rate than in the original, much to player detriment, and managing to keep it at a viable level while also paying the Council, buying new cages, and viewing feeds at their active times is quite the challenge. However, similarly to games like Papers, Please, it's very doable to make incremental progress each run, and the payoff that comes from things like the title's both hilarious and thought-provoking dialogue and the payoff from either helping or hindering primates makes Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 a worthwhile experience.

Overall, this leaves After Us as a flawed but intriguing 3D platformer. Its moments of brilliance are great to behold, such as its varied, dreadful locales and those moments where its platforming truly clicks. However, its lack of character and story development and its more frustrating sections do mean that it's not a perfect game - but at the very least its heart is in the right place.

The core of Curse of the Sea Rats is a solid if unexceptional Metroidvania, and that core makes the majority of a playthrough enjoyable. At the moment, however, the game needs a little more time in the oven. Some bugs and design choices could use ironing out, and completionists are going to have a bad time until the game’s finale is hopefully shored up. It's easy to accept certain quirks and minor failings while ticking the map close to completion, but it's hard to recommend Curse of the Sea Rats when it has the potential to run completely aground.

Overall, Across the Obelisk is a fun deckbuilding roguelite that doesn't measure up to the genre's greats. Its innovations aren't really that interesting and the rest is pretty standard, which isn't a knock against the game, since it executes on that vanilla approach well. It does mean that Across the Obelisk is less likely to suck players into dozens of hours of playthroughs, but it's worth a try for fans of the deckbuilding roguelite genre. I can't see myself going back right now when Slay the Spire and Roguebook offer much more depth, but I enjoyed my stay with Across the Obelisk, and if there are any major updates, I'll get my party back together for another journey.

While the survival elements of Endling - Extinction is Forever would benefit from balancing and glitch patches, the gut-wrenching story is more than enough to keep players moving forward. The game offers a shocking glimpse into the long-term effects of pollution, and how it specifically impacts innocent wildlife. Players invested in climate change, wildlife conservation, or emotionally intense narratives will likely enjoy Endling and find its overarching story gripping despite the bleak atmosphere. However, the title may not be a good pick for casual gamers or those who enjoy survival narratives that are fantasy-driven, as it specifically focuses on displaying the real-world effects of habitat destruction and pollution. Despite this, Endling, Extinction is Forever is a deeply emotional and thought-evoking journey that will leave an impression on anyone who chooses to play it.

Dismembered bodies, venomous plants, and a terrifying, mangled creature can all by found in Oxide Room 104, a new body-horror game developed by Wild Sphere and published by Perp Games. The game follows Matthew as he attempts to escape a decrepit motel after being assaulted upon arrival. There are multiple endings, a variety of challenging puzzles, and collectible documents that can help Matt uncover the truth about the sinister motel he finds himself trapped in.

Heartless Lullaby has the potential to be expanded into a full experience that can give Vampire: The Masquerade fans their own equivalent to a Baldur's Gate title. As it stands, the current version of the game is worth checking out as a free title that only takes a short period of time to finish, especially as a taster for the Vampire: The Masquerade games that are coming soon. It's easy to see why Heartless Lullaby won the Vampire Jam, as the team did an amazing job putting together a game in a month, and it will hopefully lead to more World of Darkness content from the studio in the future.

As such it is hard to recommend The Waylanders in its current form. Although it is charming and enthusiastic, its slapdash quality seriously hampers the overall quality of the experience. A middling narrative and minor bugs are easy to overlook if the overall game is enjoyable - which The Waylanders is - but potentially game-breaking issues will erode any good will the title may have gained.

Even as the final moments occurred, which also felt like it came out of nowhere, it didn't feel like the player was a hero. Given the wonderful mechanics, design, personality, and narrative intentions of Scarf, the confusing storytelling is unfortunate but, thankfully, doesn't make the game any less enjoyable. While it's never fun to push story to the sidelines, doing so will let players get lost in Scarf's beautiful worlds and have an absolute blast during its short but sweet playtime.

Overall, Aeterna Noctis is a solid experience with some notable flaws that aren't deal-breakers, but could definitely benefit from a bit more refinement. What it does do quite well is find where its two genres intersect and craft a world and gameplay loop that highlight them quite well. For fans of these kinds of games, Aeterna Noctis is definitely worth picking up.

For being as strange and bloated as it is, Epic Chef is a very engaging experience. While there are an almost frightening number of different mechanics involved, they all work together in interesting ways to create a very cohesive experience. Some people will like specific aspects of Epic Chef over others, but the way in which they work together means that very few are going to have trouble engaging with the whole, at least on some level.

Metroid Dread is an instant classic. Its seamless blend of exploration, combat, puzzle-solving, and light touches of story creates one of the most engaging experiences on Nintendo Switch. Samus Aran's journey has been through its ups and downs, but the mesospheric high of Metroid Dread is evidence there is so, so much more left for the bounty hunter to accomplish, and another adventure can't come soon enough.

Overall, Clid the Snail is a beautiful game with tons of personality and a world that begs to be explored, but the combat and gameplay is so frustrating that it makes doing so a huge a chore. The good news is that it only takes a patch or two to fix the weapon damage and rolling issues if they're viewed by many as a source of frustration rather than challenging, fair combat. While it's not the best experience right now, players should absolutely follow its post-launch development, because Clid the Snail oozes, like so many of its menagerie, with the kind of potential that could make it an excellent entry into its genre with some meaningful tweaks.

There were also a number of bugs which stymied review, including getting stuck inside level architecture and losing control of the left Joy-Con analog stick during harried sequences. Player mileage may vary on this front, and a version update will hopefully cleanse these issues on day of release. Beyond these misgivings, additional praise is due for a general absence of jump scares, that old standby which indie horror relies upon all too frequently. The occult themes, macabre designs, and that ambient audio prove much more effective at Lamentum’s goals. There are even a few different endings - two of which are not obvious - which bump up the replayability like other survival horror classics. Lamentum is a fine debut that happens to serve a very specific fanbase, the same players who will celebrate its lack of trusty modern gameplay conveniences.

Overall, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a faithful adaptation that has been made with a lot of love. It's not perfect, as players may find the controls a little loose and the lack of change and additional features may make some question its worth, but it's nonetheless a good recreation of the fantastic Master System title.

Even so, The Longest Road on Earth is still relatively successful. Its unique and interesting gimmick allows it to reach places that other indie games have yet to travel, although it does fall into limitations with just how engaging it can be thanks to its pacing and self-inflicted restrictive nature. Nonetheless, fans of character-centric experimental works will likely want to give this a go, and it's a useful blueprint for potential future innovation, too.

That being said, Mail Mole is a great 3D platformer with a ton of replayability - it just fails to provide in crucial areas. If players are a fan of the genre and are waiting for the next 3D platforming AAA title, Mail Mole will satisfy that need as long as the player comes prepared to deal with its sub-par characters and soundtrack. Mute the game and look away during cutscenes and players will have a great time with Mail Mole.

Sword of the Necromancer feels more like a proof of concept than a full-fledged experience. The idea of using former enemies as allies is a great one, but its shoddy execution and lack of content hamstrings that premise quickly. People who are looking for another exciting roguelike game after finishing Hades should keep on looking, as Sword of the Necromancer doesn't live up to the potential of its one great gimmick.

Colossus Down is a fun, quirky, and dark game for players who wish for nothing more than to raze the world in the name of a cute mecha and the genius who built it. That's admittedly a pretty niche audience, but those with an affection for well-made sidescrollers or morbid cartoons will also find a lot to like in Colossus Down.

Call Of The Sea is a real surprise. A perfectly-paced puzzle adventure that manages to pour more than the expected amount of heart into its story, it manages to combine a number of disparate elements into a hugely enjoyable game, and certainly not one to be missed.

If there was some sort of "unlock all" option for WWE 2K Battlegrounds that gave everything the game had to offer from the start, this might be an easy recommendation for wrestling fans looking for a multiplayer party game. Throwing wrestlers to alligators and electrified cage matches all have their fleeting charms, and a more fully-featured game could easily sneak into a rotation of favorites. As it stands, the implementation of grind and paid currency wring all the fun out of the experience, leaving a game with some potential that isn't worth the effort to see all the way through. Much like a modern-day RAW main event, the in-ring action is sound if not memorable, but it's the decisions behind the scenes that really ruin it for everyone.

Relicta is an enjoyable puzzle game, but some of the stages can more frustrating than fun, thanks to a mixture of unreliable mechanics and the developers forcing the player to abide by a strict set of boundaries at all times. Relicta still offers an enjoyable puzzle-solving experience despite its issues and the mystery of what is happening on the base is enough of an incentive to keep pushing through the annoying parts of the game.

Summer In Mara isn’t perfect, as while the plot is generally well-written it can be slow at times, and requires a fair bit of grinding to progress. Still, it is a beautiful game, and there is a calming feeling in ferrying seeds, animals, and supplies from one of Mara's many faraway islands to the player's farm. Overall, Summer In Mara is a nice, quiet farming sim with plenty of warmth and charm, perfect for those who wish to get away from it all for a brief session or two.

Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge at first seems to be a knock off of all of the 2D scrollers that came before it. The game wears those influences on its sleeve though and manages to modernize the concepts that were made famous in the 80s and 90s. Players may find themselves getting frustrated at times with the games difficulty, but they should force themselves to fight through it. Willy Jetman is a game that is worth finishing, not only because the game is fun, but because by finishing it players get to see how much love the game has for its many influences.

The story of Gylt ends with a choice, but really, it began with one. To play Gylt right now, players have to choose to purchase a Google Stadia. To play it on a television, they have to choose to purchase Chromecast. After both of these choices, they then have to choose to purchase the game itself. Those are a lot of decisions to end at an experience which, while appropriately atmospheric and nearly edging into the realm of interesting, is ultimately hampered by predictable plot points and unoriginal gameplay. The art design is neat, though.

Intruders: Hide and Seek is a solid enough effort for an indie horror title. The fact that it remains so straightforward throughout may stop it from reaching a level of quality that comes with a greater scope, but it nonetheless achieves a competency that horror fans will appreciate. Throw in a decent story and it becomes a neat little pocket of fun for horror aficionados.

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son should be praised for its devotion to the source material and bravery in its expansive approach to a time-honored classic film, but it fails in certain glaring areas that may frustrate its audience. Hampering player freedom in a sequel to a movie that was primarily about freedom seems drastically ill-conceived, and it’s hard to understand why the finished product was even made as a VR game in the first place. Fans of the film will still find it to be a worthy experience, mixing a similar blend of sarcastic humor and sincere emotional growth, but impatient gamers will probably grate against the clunky UI and unavoidable padding.

Etherborn becomes a very tricky game but the brain-teasing only lasts a couple of hours. The final riddle, however, feels surprisingly tame and not the big final exam it should be, resulting in a relatively anti-climatic finish. It also doesn’t help that cryptic story, centering on the complexities of human life, winds up being more confusing than profound. If nothing else, a New Game + adds mileage to old stages by placing nodes in new, harder-to-reach areas.  Despite a few drawbacks, the positives of Etherborn’s design combined with its attractive presentation manage to just outweigh its shortcomings. Your noggin will ultimately be left wanting more of Etherborn’s mysteries, but that says a lot about its upsides–or downsides, depending on the angle you’re viewing them.

They Are Billions is a fun enough game for those looking for a nice hybrid of the survival and base-building strategy games even if neither aspect feels as fleshed out as it could. While the steampunk setting and addition of zombies adds a fresh layer of paint to things, it's not nearly enough to sustain the game for too long, especially when the controls are often so frustrating that some players will find themselves pausing or turning the game off entirely to take a break because of it. Regardless, there's still a really fun game underneath all of the flaws, and a level of suspense that almost makes it worth ignoring them.

Melbits World uses PlayLink to its current full potential, incorporating the touch screen of tablets to great effect. Its cute world and phone-ready puzzles are perfect for kids around the age of 8, but anyone who is sucked into playing with them will find themselves bored after a few stages. The most puzzle-obsessed of gamers should set their sights on something a bit more complicated and adult.

The short length of GRIS might be too much (or too little) for some players. GRIS isn't a full price title but it can (and should) be beaten in one sitting. Similarly priced games can last much longer. There's no real replay value either to make a second jaunt in its colorful world worth it. GRIS is best experienced as single-sitting five-hour adventure and after that there's nothing more to do really do with the game. The puzzles are a lot less engaging on repeat and the world is very linear. In every other aspect though GRIS is a masterpiece in visualization and atmospheric storytelling.

To be a successful parody a game needs to just as good if not better than the games it is mocking. The controls need to be precise, the genre laser-focused and there should be at least one wholly original gameplay element. Rise & Shine doesn't check of any of those boxes. Rise & Shine is a disappointment of a game that could've (and should've) been so much better.